Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is launching The Horowitz Andreessen Academy, a school for aspiring founders who have just graduated high school and have not yet attended college. The academy aims to train these high school grads with hands-on coursework on topics ranging from the technical (such as “AI Research and Models”) to life philosophy (such as “The Geometry of Luck”). Students will also work on personal projects and receive mentors who are big names in tech. The school is accepting applications for its first year, a one-year program with no tuition, open to about 50 students, “chosen on proof of work: what they have built, shipped, or earned,” according to the school’s FAQ. Located in San Francisco, students must arrange their own housing.

The academy is not accredited, so participants will not earn a degree or transferable college credits. In 2028, it hopes to offer a two-year program and charge tuition “similar in cost to an elite private university,” CEO Gagan Biyani said. The school may expand beyond 50 students. Students will gain access to 200 speakers and mentors, including from founding corporate partners: Anduril, Anthropic, Coinbase, Google, Meta, Nvidia, Open AI, Palantir, Replit, and Stripe. Those companies hope to hire graduates, Biyani said.

This is like if Y Combinator and Peter Thiel’s Fellowship Program had a baby. Instead of a short-term experience ending with funding, students pay tuition, earn tech-trade skills, and get an inside track at tech industry jobs. It’s meant to be a new middle ground between obtaining a full degree and dropping out to start a company. In an era when AI hampers the entry-level job market, gaining job access may be enough reason to try this trade school-like approach.